FIVE KEY NEPALESE INGREDIENTS

Dalle khursani

‘A very, very hot chilli that looks like a cherry tomato. We make a pickle from it.’

Colocasia leaf

‘This spinach-like leaf is used in curries and soups. We also eat a lot of nettle leaves, and make nettle soup with rice flour.’

Goat

‘We use goat’s milk, cheese and meat. It’s the most common meat, then chicken and fish. Every festival, we have goat, usually curried. In Nepal, whatever it is, we’ll make a curry!’

Timur

‘Similar to, but a bit different from, Sichuan pepper. It’s amazing. On Masterchef,

I marinated octopus in spices including timur, and they loved it. There’s a Chinese and Tibetan influence in Nepalese cooking.’

Mustard oil

‘Nepalis use this everywhere. We like strong flavours. But, in the UK imported oil is marked “for external use”, so we are not able to use it in professional kitchens.’ The Good Food team

says: Pure mustard oil cannot be sold as food in Britain. Edible versions are blends that contain less than 5 per cent erucic acid, a substance that has been linked to heart disease.